


A Diamond in the Rough

by NextTrickAnvils



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Aladdin (1992) Fusion, Byleth's in the role of Aladdin, Claude's in the role of Jasmine, Corrin and Kana from Fates also appear but only in the framing device, F/M, Following the animated version for the most part
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:29:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22140085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NextTrickAnvils/pseuds/NextTrickAnvils
Summary: After her father disappeared, Byleth lived in the streets of Almyra with her only friend, Leonie for nearly as long as either woman can remember.Then everything changed when Byleth fell for Almyra's Prince and a strange man demands she find a magic stone.(AU based on Disney's Aladdin)
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 17
Kudos: 104





	1. Almyran Nights

**Author's Note:**

> So this has been on my mind for a while, I don't have much else to say about it cept I will admit that I've got the movie script in a chrome tab cause it's been a long time since I last saw the movie and I'm too lazy to set aside time to rewatch it. That said, I will try to avoid just copy+pasta'ing and replacing names.
> 
> Also: while there will be references to the songs, this will be not be a songfic.

Almyra, Corrin thought to herself, is a beautiful country.

Although she certainly missed home and this was not meant to be a vacation, Corrin found herself still enjoying her time here.

“Mama! Mama! Look!”

Of course she wasn’t alone, Kana was absolutely enamored with the foreign land and constantly found something new to spark his interest.

“What is it, Kana?”

Kana held tight to Corrin’s hand as he guided her to what he saw.

A small group of children gathered around a green-haired girl who honestly didn’t look too much older than them, singing a song about Almyran Nights.

The performer bowed down as she finished her song and her little audience (along with Kana) cheered.

“Thank you! Thank you! Now I would like to bring your attention… to this...”

With that, the performer pulls out a strange looking stone.

“Now I know what you must be thinking… but this is no ordinary stone. In fact there is a story behind this stone and how it changed the fate of two people and two lands. Would you like to hear it?”

The children began to shout and cheer. Kana looked up at Corrin with big pleading eyes.

“Oh can we hear the story Mama!? Can we!? Can we!? Maybe there’ll be dragons!”

“Well… alright… we’ve got time before we have to go see your father and Uncles and Aunts.”

The mother and son pair turned their attention to the performer as she cleared her throat.

“Our tale begins years ago. Deep in the mountains of Fodlan’s Throat. There… a dark sorcerer, his subordinate, and a bandit meet...”

* * *

A man known only as Kostas rides through the rocky path with a horse he had stolen from the merchants he attacked. He glances at the bag tied to his waist, whatever reward he was being offered better be worth it. Kostas was no damn delivery boy.

Eventually he sees two figures in the distance and rides towards them.

He had seen them before when he was offered the job but he still wasn’t used to their appearances.

The girl was relatively normal looking besides her pale skin and red eyes but the old man… Kostas holds back the shudder upon seeing the man’s disfigured head once again.

The old man approaches Kostas as the latter climbs off his horse.

“You are late.”

“Well sorry for not knowing which damn merchant caravan carried the thing you wanted.” Kostas replied in an annoyed tone

“So you have it then?”

“Had to slit a few throats but...”

With that, Kostas pulls out from his bag, what looked to be half of a medallion, shaped in the form of a dragon’s head. Before the old man could take it, Kostas pulls his hand back.

“I ain’t givin’ this to you yet. Where’s the treasure you promised?”

The girl giggled and seemed to vanish in the darkness, only to reappear behind Kostas and painfully twist his arm to grab the medallion. She walks back and gives it to the old man with a smug look on her face.

“I assure you that you will get what’s coming to you.”

The old man then pulls something out of his robes and Kostas didn’t need to be a genius to figure out that it was the medallion’s other half.

Very carefully, he brings the two pieces together and as soon as they connect, the fully formed dragon head lets out a bright green glow and a roar that causes all who are near to shield their ears.

The medallion then flies off, leaving the glow as a trail.

“Follow it!”

The old man and the girl vanish, leaving Kostas to quickly mount the horse and follow the glowing trail.

It wasn’t long before the dragon medallion imbeds itself into the side of a mountain and the mountain itself starts to shift.

The old man and girl reappear besides Kostas just as the mountainside morphs into a large dragon head similar to the medallion.

“Ahahahaha! At last! After years of searching, the Holy Tomb!”

Even Kostas seemed impressed by the sight, letting out a mutter of “damn.”

The old man then turned to Kostas, pushing him with his staff.

“Now remember, bring us the stone. Everything else you are welcome to as your reward.”

Kostas chuckled and rubbed his hands together like a child about to get a treat as he approached the stone dragon head.

Unknown to him, the girl rolled her eyes and glanced at the old man.

“You really know how to pick them, Solon.”

“Hush, Kronya.”

But just as Kostas reached the cave mouth, another roar is heard along with a powerful voice.

**_“WHO DISTURBS THE SLUMBER OF THE GODDESS!?”_ **

Kostas stares wide-eyed, this was not what he was expecting. But regardless, he replied.

“I am Kostas! One of the most fearsome bandits, IN ALL OF FODLAN!”

The stone dragon narrows its eyes at Kostas, seemingly unimpressed by his bragging. 

**_“KNOW THIS. ONLY ONE MAY ENTER HERE. ONE WHOSE WORTH LIES FAR WITHIN. A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH!”_ **

Kostas smirked and paid no mind to the dragon’s warning. But as he takes a step inside, yet another roar rings out. In a panic, he attempts to turn back only for the dragon to snap its mouth closed. Solon and Kronya watch as the dragon recedes back into the mountain as Kostas’ screams become more and more distant and muffled.

“SEEK THEE OUT, THE DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH!”

The dragon medallion reappears and splits back into two as the pieces fall to the ground.

Kronya lets out a frustrated growl as she goes to pick up the two halves.

“I can’t believe it. All that work and having to work with that… that  _ DOG _ and we’re no closer to getting that stupid stone!”

“KRONYA!”

She looks over at Solon, whose expression had not changed at all.

“You must have patience, Kronya. This is merely a small setback. Obviously Kostas was less than worthy.”

“Tch, you don’t say? So if this is just a “small setback” what do we do now?” Kronya responded with sarcasm in her voice

“It is simple. The Tomb will only allow one to enter it. We must find this… Diamond in the Rough.”


	2. One Jump

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We are introduced to our two heroines.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Not too many edits made, mostly gave some of Byleth's dialogue to Leonie]

“STOP THIEF!”

“STOP HER!”

The crowd parts as a blue haired young woman runs through with guards chasing after her.

She quickly ducks into an alley and snatches some fabric to wrap around her.

“In trouble again, Byleth?”

The young woman, Byleth, looks upwards and sees an amused older woman looking down from her window.

“Oh you know, same old same old.”

“Where’s that sister of yours? You two are usually inseparable.”

“Don’t worry, Leonie’s always had a knack for good timing.”

“THERE YOU ARE!”

Byleth felt her arm being grabbed along with the fabric falling around her and found herself face to face with one of the guards.

“You are not getting away this ti...”

The sound of breaking pottery rings out as the guard loosens his grip and collapses. A confident looking redhead standing behind him, dusting off her hands.

“Hope you weren’t talking about me behind my back.”

“Don’t worry, I was just complimenting your usual perfect timing, Leonie. Now let’s get out of here.”

The two women rush out of the alleyway and through the marketplace as the rest of the guards continue to make chase.

“All this for a loaf of bread!” Remarked Leonie

“I know! You’d think we stole from the Royal Family!” Byleth replied

They let out a laugh as they climb up a pile of barrels, Leonie making sure to kick one down as a distraction, and then jumping onto an unfinished tower.

The two couldn’t help but smirk over the shouts of “Street Mouse” and “Scoundrel!”

“It’s just a little snack, guys.” remaked Leonie

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say as one of the guards threw his sword at her and Byleth in response, forcing them to hide behind one of the wooden pillars.

“You had to make them angry.” Byleth said

Leonie attempted to shrug but immediately grabbed onto the wooden pillar as she felt the guards shake it to bring her and Byleth down. Byleth looked down at the other side and then turned to Leonie.

“Okay… we jump at three. One...”

“THREE!” Leonie shouted as she grabbed Byleth’s hand and the two jumped, breaking through a few awnings in the process.

The two women continued running until finally finding themselves seemingly trapped in an abandoned building filled with pottery and rugs.

“Hey Leonie, remember those stories we heard when we first came here about flying carpets?”

“Byleth, this isn’t a good time to go down Memory La...” Leonie turned around and saw Byleth by the window, holding a particularly large rug.

“No! No! NO! NO!”

“It’s either this or the guards...”

Leonie looked over at the door and could hear the guards getting closer and then looked back at Byleth.

“...Fine.”

Byleth gripped one end of the rug while Leonie gripped the other and the two took a few steps back from the window.

“Here’s wishing for a happy landing!” said Byleth

They started to run and just before they reached the window, they jumped and by some miracle the two made a bumpy but still safe landing.

“Think we lost them?”

They can hear the guards searching the room and eventually the sounds of their voices grow more and more distant.

Byleth and Leonie smile and high-five.

“So shall we eat?” Asked Byleth as she split the loaf of bread in two

The two women sit down on the ground and take a bite of their halves of bread. It felt so good to finally have some food in their stomachs. But before Byleth could take another bite, she sees something in the corner.

She stands up, walks a little closer, and finds a pair of children, a girl and a boy, digging through garbage for a meal.

“Hey, what’s going on, By…? Oh...”

Byleth glances at the bread in her hand and then back at the kids. She lets out a sigh and walks towards them. Once they noticed her, the two children attempted to hide.

“No, no, it’s okay… it’s okay...” Byleth tells them in a soft gentle tone.

She extends her hand and offers them the bread.

“It’s okay, take it.”

The young girl, hesitantly reaches toward the bread, almost afraid that Byleth would pull it away at the last second.

But Byleth simply smiles as the girl takes the bread from her hand. She smiles back and whispers a thank you as she tries to take apart the bread to share with the boy.

“Hey wait a sec.”

The two turn to see Leonie walking towards them and extending her hand to give them her own bread.

“There’s not gonna be enough for both of you if you only have that half. Here.”

The boy takes the bread from Leonie and hugs her. Leonie smiles and pats the boy on the head.

“Now go on and enjoy your meal.” said Byleth

The two women watch as the kids run off out of the alleyway with the bread.

“Kind of reminds me of...” Remarked Leonie

“Yeah...”

The sound of horns rang out in the air, catching the two’s attention.When they step out of the alleyway, they find themselves in the middle of a large crowd watching a parade. They just barely see a young woman in very expensive clothes sitting side saddle on a horse and blowing kisses to those watching her.

A pair of onlookers remarked, “Looks like she’s heading to the Palace.”

“Another noble girl attempting to court the Prince.”

Byleth and Leonie look at each other, rolling their eyes.

“Look at those clothes, how are you supposed to walk in that thing?” asked Leonie

“I just assume that she has servants carry her around.”

The two women laugh at their little joke but stop once they hear the horse whine and the noblewoman scream.

“GET OUT OF MY WAY YOU LITTLE BRAT!”

Byleth pushes herself through the crowd and sees the same two children standing before the noblewoman, frightened, along with who she assumes is one of the woman’s guards in full armor threateningly walking towards the kids.

Without even thinking, Byleth runs out of the crowd and stands between the guard and the children.

“Stand aside, these children disrespected Lady Hasna and must be punished!”

“All they did was cross her path, they weren’t trying to...”

Before Byleth could finish, the knight slaps her, the strength and force of his metal clad hand causes her to fall back into a puddle of mud.

“Byleth!”

Leonie pushes through the crowd and checks on Byleth while the two children also rush to her side.

“Let that be a lesson! None shall disturb Lady Hasna during this important visit.”

The knight and noblewoman continued riding down the street but Leonie refused to let them have the last word.

“Hey Byleth, look at that. Not everyday you see a horse with two asses.”

The noblewoman lets out an offended gasp and just gives a rather unladylike smirk.

“Hmph, say what you want. But I have nowhere to go but up. Meanwhile you two are just street mice. You were born as street mice and you’ll die as street mice too with only the fleas to mourn you.”

Leonie let out a growl and she attempted to charge at the noblewoman but the gates to the Palace closed and separated them before she could reach her.

“We’re not worthless… and we don’t have fleas either!” Leonie retorted

“Leonie, forget about it.”

Byleth stands up and rubs the spot where the knight slapped her. She looks around and sees the crowd breaking up and of course none coming to see if she’s alright.

The two children are still here and Byleth kneels down to them.

“Are you two okay?”

They nod and Byleth gives them both a pat on the head.

“Go ahead and run along now. That lady is the Prince’s problem now.”

Both children hug Byleth and afterwards run off to somewhere else. Leonie finally walks up to Byleth and looks her over.

“For real though, are you gonna be okay?”

“It stings and it might bruise but I’ve dealt with worse. Let’s go home Leonie.”

* * *

Byleth looked out the hole in the wall at the grand Almyran Royal Palace, bathed in the reds and oranges of the sunset. While Leonie dug through their belongings for some salve she swears they should still have.

“...Do you ever think about father?” asked Byleth

At the mention of her mentor, Leonie let out a sigh.

“All the time. What brought this up, Byleth?”

“Just… just remembering better times.”

Leonie looked at Byleth sadly before resuming her search and finally finding the salve jar.

“Alright hold still while I put this on your cheek.”

Byleth winced at the cold burning feeling of the salve. Once she was sure she applied enough, Leonie put the jar aside and looked out the makeshift window.

“You know… for what it’s worth… I think Captain Jeralt would have been proud of us for surviving this long.”

“I suppose.”

The two were silent for an unknown amount of time before Byleth spoke up again.

“Someday Leonie, things are going to change.”

Leonie smirked, “You saying we’ll be rich one day?”

“Yeah maybe we’ll even live in a palace.”

“...And we’d never have any problems at all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this felt rushed. Problem with trying to adjust a musical number scene to a non-musical scene. (And I admit I was super tempted to keep the "You idiots we all have swords!" bit. Ah well. :P)


	3. A Prince and King's Dilemma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A suitoress is scared off, our villains make a move, and a Prince escapes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing much to say but just want to give a shout-out to some folks from Claudeleth server since I'm borrowing the name Qadir for Claude's father from them cause I don't wanna spend the whole fic trying to avoid writing names because IntSys were cowards and didn't give Claude's father a canon name.
> 
> By the way I cannot guarantee updates will continue to come out this quickly. I just really wanted to write this chapter apparently. :P
> 
> And finally: thank you to those who commented, I was kind of unsure about this fic initially but seeing the comments were encouraging. :)
> 
> [Edit: Well IntSys are less cowardly since in the Cindered Shadows DLC, we know know that Claude's mother's name is Tiana. So yeah that's changed. Also added and edited some dialogue to emphasis the point that Claude's parents while they are trying, aren't really doing the best thing.]

It was a fine quiet morning in the Almyran Royal Palace…

Too quiet for Queen Tiana…

She couldn’t seem to focus on her breakfast, only gingerly poking at it rather than enjoying the meal.

“My love?”

“Hm?”

Tiana looked up at her husband, King Qadir, looking concerned.

“Is there something bothering you, my love? You’re barely touching your food” 

Tiana sighed and took a sip of tea.

“Have you noticed how quiet it’s been since Khalid and Lady Hasna went outside? It’s too quiet and I don’t trust that. I’m expecting the other shoe to drop any moment now.”

Upon hearing that, Qadir laughed his usual boisterous laugh.

“Is that all? Since when have you become so distrustful of peace and quiet?”

“Since the last time we invited a noblewoman to meet Khalid, there was peace and quiet and then an explosion.”

Before Qadir could respond, Tiana continued.

“And the time before that, it was his wyvern roaring, the time before that was a loud splashing, and the time before that...”

“Alright alright my love, I believe you’ve made your point. But I think you’re being paranoid. I have a good feeling about Lady Hasna. Khalid seemed quite interested during the dinner last night. I believe we may have finally found the one for him...”

Suddenly a loud shrill scream filled the halls of the Palace.

Tiana took another sip of tea before remarking, “...You were saying?”

The two then began to stand up from the table and immediately spotted Lady Hasna with a very noticeable purple stain on her dress, running towards them.

“PLEASE YOU HAVE TO TAKE ME TO THE HEALER! PLEEEASE!”

“Alright, alright Lady Hasna, I’ll take you there. Qadir, please have a talk with our son.”

As Tiana guided Lady Hasna to the Healer, Qadir let out an exasperated sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Khalid...”

* * *

“Alright kiddo, give me the best you got!”

Khalid smirked as he held on the training sword and charged at his instructor… only to be knocked off balance with one hit.

“HA! I’ve been training you for how long kiddo? And you’re still a mess with a sword.”

The Prince winced as he picked himself back up.

“If this was a fight with bows, we all know who would have been the winner, Nader. Isn’t that right, Omar?” Khalid said, turning to his white wyvern resting nearby

The wyvern only snorted in response.

“Yeah well one day, a bow’s not going to be enough and you gotta close in.”

Before Khalid could say anything in response, he and Nader could hear a shout in the distance.

“KHALID!”

“Oh shit.”

Without hesitation, Khalid ran to Omar and hid behind one of the wyvern’s wings. Soon enough, the King arrived looking very very angry.

“Your Majesty, good morning.” Said Nader while bowing

“I do not have time for small talk, Nader. Where is my son?”

“The kid? Hm… he was here a minute ago, been trying to get him to improve his swordsmanship.”

Qadir ignored Nader as he looked around the grounds… and spotted a bit of yellow near his son’s trusted wyvern.

He makes his way towards Omar’s side, only for the wyvern himself to face the King and snort in his face. Qadir stood his ground and snorted back.

Wyvern and King stood and glared at each other until finally Khalid emerged.

“Alright, alright if you two are going to do a staring contest all day, I might as well come on out.”

Khalid stood before his father, mentally preparing himself for the usual lecture.

“Khalid, please do tell me why our guest, Lady Hasna, came screaming into the Palace about needing to see the Healer?”

The Prince just grinned as he put his arms behind his head.

“Oh that little incident… well you see, I wanted to share my latest concoction with the... ahem… _lovely_ Lady Hasna. But whoops, it just slipped out of my fingers and right on her dress. She’s got nothing to worry about though, it’s harmless. Worst it’ll do is leave a nasty stain that’s gonna take a while to wash out.”

“...But…?”

Khalid sighed, even if his father had his oblivious moments, he was sharp enough to know when there was a “but.”

“...Buuuut… I may have… _mistakenly_ told her that it was a skin-eating poison.”

Qadir groaned as he rubbed his temples and muttered, “Stars and gods above.”

“Now in my defense...”

“What defense is there, Khalid? You cannot keep doing this.”

Khalid rolled his eyes, “Not like it would have worked out anyway. I kept a close eye on her during the dinner last night and you should have seen the looks she shot at me and mother when she thought no one was looking. Just another noble girl willing to “settle” with a half-breed if she gets to be Queen.”

With that, he walked away and picked up the wooden training sword he had dropped when he ran off to hide.

“Khalid...”

“Father… I can say things in a disappointed tone too.”

Qadir still approached his son and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“My son, please. We’re trying our best for you. Your mother ran away from her home to escape a marriage that her father had arranged for her that she knew she would never be happy in. And so as you grew older, your mother and I swore that we would never force that on you and that you may choose your own Bride”

“Oh yeah, throwing Almyran noblewomen at me and hoping one sticks. That sure does show how important my choice is. Least you could do is let me outside the Palace walls so I can actually _choose to_ _meet_ someone.” Khalid muttered in a frustrated tone

“And you know why you are not allowed to leave…”

Khalid looked away from his father. He wanted to argue that that incident was years and years ago and he’s almost twenty-three, dammit… but he’d be lying if he said it didn’t affect him in some way.

Qadir sighs, “Maybe… we should talk about this later.”

“Maybe we should...”

With that, Qadir walked away from his son. Khalid then felt another hand on his shoulder.

“You just stay out here and calm yourself, Kiddo. I’ll talk to him.”

“...Thanks Nader.”

Khalid then walked over to Omar and pet his friend’s muzzle.

“I’m fine, old friend. I appreciate you trying to help me hide though. But… you should go fly a bit, I’ll be fine by myself.”

The wyvern looked concerned for a moment but with an encouraging smile from his master and friend, he stepped back and began to lift himself off the ground and into the sky above as Khalid watched from below.

* * *

Qadir had made his way through the archway back inside when Nader caught up to him.

“You know Your Majesty… The boy has a point. Even if you aren’t pointing at some lady and telling him “Marry her,” it still feels like he doesn’t really have much choice in the matter. Especially since you’re insisting on following the old traditions when you went and broke all the rules by marrying a lass from Fodlan.”

“I did not break **ALL** the rules with Tiana. She was still a noble in Fodlan’s Alliance...”

Nader raised an eyebrow, clearly not accepting Qadir’s excuse.

“…I suppose you and he do have a point but what else am I supposed to do Nader? I can’t send him out by himself and with Fodlan having some connection to most of our neighbors, communication with them is difficult. And I can’t exactly go into the streets of the capital, grab some random girl and say “You! Spend time with my son and see if he wants to marry you!””

Just as the two rounded a corner, they ran into Tiana who was noticeably alone.

“Dearest? Where is Lady Hasna?”

“Well after learning that she was in no danger from whatever Khalid spilled on her, Lady Hasna has decided to return home and gave us the “charming” parting words of and I quote “Good luck marrying off that half-breed brat.” She also had some choice words for me but I don’t think you need to hear them.”

Qadir and Nader glanced at each other, recalling Khalid’s words about Lady Hasna shooting certain looks at him and Tiana during dinner.

“You know… when the boy is right...”

With nothing else to say, Qadir sadly smiles at his wife and kisses her on the forehead.

“I… I apologize that you had to deal with that.”

“It is nothing I have not heard before, my dear.”

“Is everything alright, Your Majesties?”

The three of them turn to the voice and see an older man with a young red haired girl at his side.

“Ah Tomas, when did you arrive back?” asked Qadir

“Just last night, Your Majesty. The trip was rather uneventful though perhaps that’s a good thing for these old bones.”

“You know as an Advisor, you could have requested transportation. It would have made things easier for you and Monica” Remarked Tiana

“I thank you, Queen Tiana but I did not wish to be a bother and besides I was perfectly safe with my granddaughter at my side.”

Nader laughed as he approached Monica and began to ruffle her hair much to her annoyance.

“Is that right? Well keep up the good work, Monica!”

Tomas let out a small chuckle at the scene and turned back to the King and Queen.

“But anyway, enough about us. I assume you were talking about young Prince Khalid’s suitoress troubles.”

“Unfortunately yes. Lady Hasna makes the eighth...”

“Ninth, Dearest.”

“Ninth suitoress he’s rejected and in fairness, he had an understandable reason for doing so with this recent one. But nonetheless, I am reaching my wit’s end.”

“I see… perhaps I could help in some way. Would you mind speaking in private, Your Majesty?”

“Hm… I suppose it wouldn’t hurt. Nader, Tiana, Monica? If you will excuse us?”

With that the two men walked off down the hall, picking up their conversation once they were sure the others couldn’t hear.

“So what is it you have in mind, Tomas?”

“Well there is a divination ritual that I had read about when I still worked with House Ordelia. But to accomplish this… it would require the use of a certain gem… perhaps the diamond on your ring?”

Qadir looked curiously and uneasy on the diamond ring on his left hand.

“Are you absolutely sure Tomas? This ring has been in my family for generations...”

The King turns to Tomas and… something… there was something about his walking cane… but…

“I assure you, Your Majesty that this will help you and your son. Everything will be alright.”

“ _..Everything will… be alright..._ ”

“The diamond if you please?”

“ _...Here… whatever you need Tomas..._ ”

With a smirk on his face, Tomas takes the ring from Qadir’s hand.

“You are most gracious, Your Majesty. We shall speak another time.”

“ _...Yes.. of course..._ ”

===

Solon found Kronya waiting for him outside the Palace.

“Ugh it’s about time you got here. I was getting sick of the Queen and that bearded idiot treating me like a child!”

“Calm yourself, Kronya… I have what we came for.” Solon said as he revealed the King’s ring.

Kronya smirked, “Good, the sooner we get this done, the sooner I can give those fools what they deserve.”

With that, the two vanished into the air.

* * *

It was just a couple hours until dawn and yet two figures made their way through the Palace and towards one of its walls.

“Are you sure about this, Kiddo? I did try to talk to your father.”

Khalid turned to Nader as he finished tying up the bandana around his head.

“You know how stubborn he is. I’m just tired of waiting for him to change his mind. I just need to get out of here or I’ll go mad.”

A whimper fills the air and the two turn to see Omar walking towards Khalid, looking truly upset. The wyvern lets out another whimper as he nuzzles Khalid, who smiles sadly.

“Sorry Omar, wish I could bring you but you’d attract too much attention. If you were still a hatchling, I’d consider it but you’ve been too big to ride on my shoulders for a long time.”

He then turns to Nader.

“I’ll be careful, thank you for trying to help.”

“It’s no problem, kiddo.”

Nader then started to ruffle Khalid’s hair, causing the Prince to sputter and try to swat the older man’s hand.

“H-hey come on! What is with you and hair ruffling?”

“Just trying to help with the disguise. Now go on and have your little adventure.”

With help from both Nader and Omar, Khalid reaches the top of the wall. He turns to the two and whispers a farewell before making the climb down the other side.


	4. New to the Marketplace?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Byleth and Leonie save a certain young man and Solon and Kronya find the Diamond in the Rough

Byleth and Leonie watched from an alleyway as a young woman in a ponytail was doing her damndest to make a bunch of melons sound like they were gifts from the Gods.

“Ready?” asked Byleth

“Ready.” Replied Leonie

Leonie stood up and walked up to the merchant’s stall, making sure to grab a melon from the other side of the stall.

“Oh this looks sooo good. How much you asking for one?”

The merchant turned around and smiled.

“For just one of these? Fifty gersh.”

Leonie gritted her teeth, “Oooh… that’s pretty pricey. How about forty gersh?”

The merchant raised an eyebrow, “Are you kidding kid? Do you know how much trouble I had to go through to get these babies from Albinea? Fifty. Gersh.”

“Okay… how about we split it in half and I’ll pay twenty-five gersh?”

“I’m not running a charity over here, you know.”

As Leonie continued to play the hapless haggler, Byleth quickly snuck by and grabbed a melon.

“You know if you aren’t gonna pay full price, you might as well leave. I’d rather deal with some actual customers now.”

Once Leonie was sure that Byleth was out of sight, she shrugged, put the melon back in the stall, and began to walk away; with the merchant none the wiser.

“Alright, thought I’d try.”

Once she reached the alleyway, Leonie started climbing up to the roof of the building where Byleth and a split melon awaited her.

“Excellent work, Leonie. Breakfast is served.”

As the two women enjoyed their meal, Byleth looked down at the marketplace. Watching more merchants trying to hock their wares, children playing nearby, and others just going about their day. Then... she saw him.

A young man with messy brown hair and a bandana tied around his head. His bright smile reaching his emerald like eyes.

“...Wow...”

Leonie begins to notice her partner’s distracted attention and immediately starts waving her hand in front of Byleth’s face.

“Byleth? Byleth? Helloooo?”

* * *

This was not Claude’s first visit to the capital’s marketplace… though given what happened during that first visit…

...Well he’d prefer to think of  **this** as his real first visit.

So far he spent the morning watching fire eaters, sword dancers, and strong men. Not to say that he couldn’t have seen those back at the palace but Claude could feel the difference between choosing to watch the performers and just having his father hiring them to entertain for a diplomatic dinner.

Now Claude was starting to get hungry so he made his way through the various stalls and carts.

“Sugar dates! Sugar dates and figs! Sugar dates and pistachios!”

“Finest smoked meat in the capital! You can taste the fire!”

“FRESH FISH! WE CATCH’EM YOU BUY’EM!”

That last merchant was a little too eager to sell his product and ended up nearly shoving a whole fish into Claude’s face.

“Eh heh, uh no thank you.”

Claude ended up backing up into another fruit cart, he looked over and saw a young boy staring at the fresh bright red apples. Claude smiled at the kid and grabbed an apple for him.

“Here you go, little guy.”

Suddenly Claude found himself being turned around and facing the stall’s merchant.

“I hope you plan on paying for that.”

Oh… right…

“Y-yeah of course! It should be about what five or ten ger...”

It was with horror that Claude realized that there was a hole in his pocket and presumably all the money he had made sure to bring with him was long gone.

“Oh… uh… there- I uh seem to have...”

“THIEF!”

“Now wait a minute, let’s not be hasty...”

The angry merchant grabs Claude’s wrist and pins it to the table. As he struggled to escape the merchant’s hold, Claude attempted to bargain.

“I can get money! Just let me go to the Palace and I’ll get some from the King and Queen...”

“No one steals from my cart!”

The merchant then pulls out a dagger and Claude finds himself starting to panic. Okay the right pocket is busted but maybe the left one is alright, he should have a vial of…

“OH! Thank you so much sir for finding him!”

Huh?

Claude looked back to see two women, a redhead holding back the merchant’s dagger hand and one with blue hair prying the other hand off Claude’s wrist.

She turns to Claude and looks annoyed.

“We were looking all over for you! Do you know how worried we’ve been!?”

Claude was about to ask what she was talking about it but a quick wink from her told him everything. Heh heh, oh she’s clever and Claude wouldn’t say no to a good scheme (especially if it means not losing a hand.)

But the Merchant wasn’t quite ready to let them go.

“You know this young man?”

“Sadly yes. He is our dear little brother. He… struggles a bit, dropped on the head when he was young, you know?”

“Your brother? But none of you look alike!”

“Haven’t you heard of adoption?”

“He said he knew the King and Queen.”

“He thinks our sister is the Queen, I’m still not sure who he thinks is the King.”

As tempted as Claude was to laugh over the woman’s attempt at a story, well he had a role to play. He turned to the redhead and deeply bowed down.

“Oh wise and beautiful Queen of Almyra, how may I serve you?”

The redhead smirked and stood up straight.

“It is my royal decree to be served Four-Spice tea every day at sunset!”

The blue haired woman sighed, “Tragic isn’t it? But there was no harm done.”

She walks over and takes Claude’s arm.

“Now let’s go little brother, it’s time to visit the Doctor.”

Continuing to play along, Claude looked over at a nearby camel.

“Oh hey Doc, how are you?”

“No, no, not that one. Come on “Queenie.””

The redhead made one more attempt at being “royal” and bowed down… only for everything she stole to slip out of her own pockets.

“Shit” Both Claude and the blue haired woman cried

The trio quickly ran as the Merchant screamed, “COME BACK YOU LITTLE THIEVES!”

* * *

Kronya stood by and watched as Solon stood over some contraption, summoning a miniature storm.

Frankly, she was becoming bored rather quickly but Solon forced her into hourglass watching duty. Honestly, the only way this could be more boring is if Solon just decided to wait for a real storm.

“Hey Solon, are you done up there yet!?”

“Patience, the sands of time will reveal all soon.”

“They better! Or I’m gonna...”

Suddenly there was a flash along with a crack of lightning. The bolt streaks through the diamond in the King’s ring and into the hourglass. Kronya stepped back and shielded her eyes with her arm from the bright light.

“Kronya! What do you see!?”

“Oh! Right!”

She approaches the hourglass as the sands swirl and swirl, eventually revealing an image of a young woman guiding two other people.

“Really? Her? This is the little whelp we’ve been looking for?”

She hears Solon teleporting behind her and approaching the hourglass.

“So… this is the Diamond in the Rough… well Kronya, shall we have the guards extend her an invitation to the palace?”

Kronya smirks in response, “We shall.”

* * *

It was ridiculous how long it took Byleth, Leonie, and their mystery man to shake off that merchant but they eventually did. From there, Byleth figured the best thing to do was go home.

“We’re almost there.”

The three climbed up a rickety old ladder, first Byleth, then Leonie, and then their guest.

As soon as he reached the top, the young man tripped and ended up landing in Byleth’s arms. The two stared at each other until they seemed to realize the position they were in and separated. Leonie just rolled her eyes at the sight.

“Heh, I swear I’m usually not this clumsy… or unlucky. But um… thanks for uh… saving my skin back there. Though next time, maybe don’t tell people that I was dropped on the head.”

“Sorry, it was the best explanation I could think of. So was that your first time at the marketplace?”

“Was I that obvious?”

Byleth chuckled as she and Leonie each grabbed a pole and vaulted between rooftops.

“You do stand out… er… I mean… you kind of had this look on your face. Like a kid learning something new...”

Before Byleth could say anything else, the young man grabbed a pole himself and vaulted over to join them. Byleth and Leonie staring in awe.

“I guess it’s a good thing that I’m a quick learner then.” He said with a wink

Leonie leaned over to Byleth and whispered, “You sure know how to pick them.”

Byleth lightly pushed Leonie as she once again took the lead.

It isn’t long before they reach their destination, ducking under fallen beams and stepping over broken planks as they went.

“So you two live here?”

“Yup, just me and Leonie ever since we were kids. We come and go as we please.”

“It’s… cozy...”

“Heh, I suppose that’s the kindest thing someone can say about it.”

Byleth grabbed a bunch of pillows, all old, beaten, and seen better days, and placed them on the floor. Then took a couple blankets, also old and beaten, and covered up the pillows. She then immediately sat down and visibly relaxed.

She glanced at her sister and the young man and motioned them to join her. Leonie sat to her right while the man sat to her left. Byleth then pulled out a couple of apples she managed to sneak away from the merchant’s cart.

At first he was hesitant to take the apple but upon hearing someone’s (probably his) stomach growling, he quickly changed his mind.

“So when did you…?”

Byleth just winked and put her finger to her lips.

“It’s a secret.”

“Okay fine. I’m sure I’ll figure you out at some point, I’m stubborn like that.” The brunette said with a chuckle and a wink

“So… if this is your first time in the market, where does that make you from?” asked Leonie with a mouth full of apple

Their guest sighed and turned all his attention to the apple in his hand.

“That... is also a secret.” 

He takes a bite and takes a moment to savor it. Once he swallows, he continues.

“Not that it matters anyway. All you need to know was that I was miserable there and just needed a breath of fresh air. What about you two? You don’t exactly look Almyran.”

Byleth smiled, “I can’t imagine what gave us away. But if you must know, we were from Fodlan.”

Now that seemed to catch his attention.

“Okay I have to hear this. How in the world did two women from Fodlan find themselves on the streets of Almyra’s capital?”

The smiles on both Byleth and Leonie’s faces dropped.

“Oh… uh… if it’s a bad subject...”

“No it’s fine… my father… he was a mercenary.”

Leonie quickly interrupted, “He wasn’t JUST a mercenary! He was Jeralt the Bladebreaker! He was one of the greatest mercenaries in Fodlan! Bandits and poachers would quake in fear at his name alone!”

The brunette just stared at Leonie while Byleth shook her head and chuckled.

“I know but you’ll have to forgive Leonie. My father took a job in her village. She was so amazed by him that after the job was done, she had begged him to train her as his apprentice. But he truly saw something in her so he accepted her.”

Leonie’s smile became nostalgic as she recalls that day and the following weeks and months of traveling with him and Byleth.

“Along with training me, he also trained Byleth and we were sometimes sparring partners. I guess you could say we kind of became like sisters and Jeralt was like a second father to me. But then...”

“Then we came to Almyra for a job. He told Leonie and me that it was too dangerous for us to go with him. So he gave us some money, took us to an inn, and told us to wait for him to come back… and he never did. Eventually the money ran out, Leonie and I were kicked out of the inn, and we’ve been surviving on the streets ever since.”

“I’m sorry...” said the Brunette

But Byleth shook her head, “Not much we can do about it. But hey, on the bright side, got to meet you and save your life.”

A tinge of pink spread across the brunette’s face as he let out an embarrassed chuckle.

“Aw come on, I would have found a...”

Before he could finish his sentence, the young man let out a large yawn. Byleth just gave a sympathetic smile.

“It’s been a long day, maybe we should rest.”

“Heh… yeah maybe that’s… that’s a good idea. A-are you sure you’re okay with...”

“It’s fine, it’s nice to have company.” Byleth said she lowered herself and rested her head on the pillows.

The brunette looked unsure at first but his tiredness seemed to win out as he joined Byleth.

Before long the two fell asleep. Leonie looked at the two in amusement.

“Sleep well, you two. I’ll be right back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a couple things:
> 
> Yes: Claude's disguise is his NG+ hair. :P
> 
> A Gursh was a real currency in areas formerly of the Ottoman Empire. They were also known as Kuruş. Figured it made sense for Almyra being a separate country from Fodlan that they'd have a different currency.
> 
> Originally I was gonna do the entire scene of looking at the palace and the two talking about Claude's marriage issues but the chapter was getting long and Leonie leaving them to nap seemed like a good cutting off point.
> 
> Also this new scene of them talking and relaxing? Served two purposes: One, to explain why Byleth and Leonie were in Almyra in the first place. Second, this was me trying to fill in the blank between them running away from the merchant and looking at the palace at sunset. Because I found it weird when I looked up the movie script for reference and saw that Aladdin and Jasmine meet in the morning but then we see them again after the Jafar scene, it's sunset. Were they running that WHOLE time!?
> 
> Anyway, sorry for my babbling, hope ya'll enjoy the chapter.


	5. Sometimes you feel so... trapped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claude and Byleth have a moment but it doesn't last long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Edits: Changed it so that Leonie was captured with Byleth rather than left alone, changed dialogue to reflect that, and added a scene with Byleth and Leonie debating about going with the "Old Man"]

Leonie spent most of the day, wandering around the Marketplace, sneakily grabbing what she can from stalls and carts and pickpocketing everything else.

There was always a little part of her that was disappointed that she became so good at thieving but her practical side always tamped that down. What was she and Byleth supposed to do? Starve to death? No thanks.

At least they never try to intentionally hurt anyone like the bandits she fought with Jeralt and Byleth.

Speaking of Byleth…

Leonie had to admit, she never took her sister to be the type to fall in love at first sight. She’ll admit the guy is handsome but they didn’t even know his name!

‘Byleth, I hope you know what you’re getting us into.’

Suddenly Leonie spotted a familiar group of guards. She immediately hid in a nearby ally and kept her ears open.

“Have you seen a pale woman with dark blue hair wearing rags?”

Leonie rolled her eyes. Do these guys ever give up!? Don’t they have bigger fish to fry?

“Oh I think I’ve seen her. She was with a lass with bright red hair and a young man in a bandana.”

Oh no…

“Where did you last see them?”

“Oh they were climbing up that ladder over there, don’t know where they were going though.”

“Hmph, it’ll do. Let’s go men!”

Leonie felt herself panicking, she needed to get back home NOW.

* * *

“Hey. Hey, wake up.”

Claude groaned as he felt a hand on his shoulder shaking him awake. He shook his head as he sat up and looked at where the voice came from. Sitting before him was the woman who saved his skin... so it wasn’t a dream.

“Oh… hey… uh… what time is it?”

“It’s sunset, now get up. There’s something I want to show you.”

Claude took the woman’s hand as she helped him stand back up. She then took him to a ragged curtain and pulled it back, revealing a full view of the Almyran Palace in the sunset.

“Great view huh? The palace looks amazing in this light.”

“...Yeah it’s… it’s wonderful.” Claude remarked with little enthusiasm

“Can you imagine what it must be like to live there? Having servants and valets...”

Claude rolled his eyes, “Oh sure and having people tell you what to wear and what to say.”

The woman pouted a little, “It has to be better than living on the streets. Always scraping for food and ducking the guards.”

“You’re not free to make your own choices...”

“Sometimes you feel so...”

“...Trapped.” They said in unison

The two looked at each other, as if they suddenly felt a connection.

The woman cleared her throat and took a seat next to Claude.

“So… I know you don’t want to say where you’re from but… can you at least tell me why you left?”

At first Claude hesitated, why should he be spilling his life story to this stranger? But then again… she did save him and she and that Leonie girl were willing to tell him how they got here…

“...The thing is… my parents are forcing me to get married.”

“Really? That’s awful, why would they do that to you?”

“Oh you know… “We’re not going to be around forever. We want you to have someone who can take care of you. We want you to be happy.” The worst part is… they’re… they don’t seem to realize they’re forcing this on me. They say they don’t want to arrange who I marry except they just keep picking random women and hoping I’ll get along with one of them instead of actually letting me go out and meet someone.”

The woman places her hand on Claude’s and gives him a sympathetic look.

“I’m so sorry to hear that… I wish there was something I could do to help.”

Claude smiles, “Thanks… that’s really sweet. You know, I got to say: you’re an interesting woman.”

“Oh really? And why do you think that?”

“Well… I don’t normally spill my guts out like this. I’m uh… not quick to trust to be honest. But something about you… I feel like I can really trust you...”

“Hm, lucky me then huh? I hope… I can continue to be someone who deserves your trust...”

The two inched closer and closer, Claude wasn’t entirely sure what they were doing but it felt right.

“GUYS!”

Claude and the woman instantly backed away from each other as Leonie rushed inside.

“The guards are looking for us!”

“So what else is new?”

“No they’re actually on our trail, they’re asking about us and I think they might be on their...”

“THERE YOU ARE!”

Claude and the woman quickly stood up.

“They’re after me! They’re after you!?” They said in unison

Claude could feel himself panicking as the guards drew closer, dammit father must have sent them to…

“Hey!”

He turned around and saw Leonie and the woman standing on the edge of the broken wall. The latter tries to give Claude her hand.

“You said you felt that you can really trust me. Did you mean it? Do you trust me?”

Every part of Claude was screaming “no” but he ignored this and took her hand.

“Yes...”

“Then JUMP!”

Without further warning, the three leapt off the edge. Their fall was broken by multiple awnings and finally landing on a pile of sand. They stood up immediately and tried to run… only to run into the guards.

“We just keep running into each other don’t we, you little coward?”

Leonie jumped onto the lead guard and pulled his turban over his eyes.

“Go!”

Claude and his companion attempt to follow Leonie’s command but instead find themselves facing more guards.

It didn’t take long before the lead guard managed to throw Leonie off of him and into a wall, knocking her out while the rest of the guards grabbed the blue haired woman’s arms. The lead guard picked up Leonie and carried her over his shoulder like a sack of goods.

“Let me go!” shouted the Blue haired woman

“Oh no, you’re finally getting what you deserve. It’s the dungeons for you two!”

Then suddenly a rock strikes one of the guards in the face, it wasn’t enough for him to loosen his grip on the woman but it did hurt.

“Who!?”

“Let them go!”

The guards then look to see Claude with another rock in his hand.

“I like to think I’ve got a pretty good aim and I’m not afraid to use another one of these.”

“You think we’re scared of you Street Rat?”

He was hoping not to do this… but if it meant saving their lives…

Claude rips off the bandana around his head and uses his free hand to push his hair back.

“No, but I’m sure you’re pretty damn scared of the Prince!”

The guards’ eyes widen and they immediately bow.

“Prince Claude...”

“The Prince…?” The woman muttered

The lead guard now truly looked worried as he approached Claude.

“What are you doing outside the palace!? And with these street mice!?”

“That isn’t your concern, do as I command and release her!”

The guard seemed to shrink, “I would Your Highness… except our orders were given by Advisor Tomas. You will have to talk with him about this.”

With that, the guards bowed and backed away, still carrying an unconscious Leonie and dragging the woman who was kicking and screaming.

“...Believe me, I will”

* * *

“TOMAS!”

Solon, still in disguise, put down the book he was reading as he heard the Prince shouting his false name.

“Ah Your Highness! Thank goodness you’ve returned safe, we were all worried about you.”

“The girls...”

“Er… the girls, your highness?”

“The ones the guards captured at the Marketplace. Under your orders apparently.”

“Oh! I see. Your Highness, you must understand, your father was so worried about you that I needed to step in to help keep the peace. Those two were criminals and they needed to be captured.”

The little brat glared at him.

“Really? What was the charge?”

“Why kidnapping the Prince, of course.”

“Neither of them kidnapped me, I ran away.”

Solon then put on a surprised then concerned facade.

“Oh dear… then your father and I... Had we but known...”

“...What aren’t you telling me, Tomas?”

“Unfortunately by order of your father, the girls’ sentences have already been carried out.”

“...What sentence?”

“Death… by beheading...”

The Prince looked horrified as Solon attempted to play the role of the sympathetic advisor.

“I am so dearly sorry Your Highness...”

The Prince stepped back with a mix of fear and rage on his face before finally turning around and running out of the library, nearly bumping into Kronya.

Once he was out of earshot, Kronya turned to Solon and smirked.

“So Princey heard the “news”, huh? Looks like he took it well.”

===

Claude was not in the mood to talk to Nader, not his mother, and DEFINITELY not his father.

So he went to the only one who’d always listen when he needed it.

“Hey Omar...”

The wyvern lifted its head upon hearing Claude’s voice and once it got a good look at the prince, nuzzled him. Claude let out a forced chuckle as he brushed his hand against Omar’s scales.

“I bet I look stupid right now. Getting this worked up over a pair of girls I only knew for a day… the one... I-I didn’t even know her name...”

And that was all it took for Claude to let his tears flow… to mourn the first people he could trust in years.

* * *

“He was the Prince… can’t believe I… I must have sounded so… so stupid to him.”

Byleth sighed as she continued to pull against the chains on the wall.

“Well… at least I can add “Trusted by a Prince” on my gravestone.”

“Kind of early to be thinking of that isn’t it?” Remarked a familiar voice

Byleth looked over and was relieved to see Leonie casually walking through the dungeon door.

“You’re okay! How did you escape!?”

“Funny thing, turns out the guards just threw me in a cell without bothering to check me for anything I could use to escape like… oh I dunno… a lockpick?”

It didn’t take long for Leonie to reach Byleth and she immediately pulled the lockpick out of her pocket and got to work on Byleth’s restraints.

“So whatever happened to Prince Charming, I uh… wasn’t really awake to see what happened.”

“Heh, funny you say that but you wouldn’t believe it.”

“Try me.”

“Turns out he really was Prince Charming… or rather Prince Claude.”

Leonie stopped and stared at Byleth.

“Prince Claude? As in Almyra’s Prince Claude?”

“Yup, the guards recognized him and even bowed down. But he didn’t have the authority to get them to let me go.”

Leonie muttered something about “then what’s even the point of bein’ royalty”” as she finished one lock and moved onto the other.

“Well… it’s not like we’re ever going to see him again. Besides we’re street mice and there’s a law. He can only marry someone of noble blood. Even if dad were still around, I somehow doubt he’d have some super secret noble bloodline.”

Finally Leonie unlocked the last restraint and Byleth stretched her arms and wrists.

“So don’t worry, I learned my lesson, I’m not going to be a fool.”

“You’re only a fool if you give up, child.”

The two women turned to a dark corner and saw a withered old man with a walking stick approach them. Leonie immediately pulled out a dagger and pointed at him but Byleth lowered her sister’s hand.

“Who are you?”

“A lowly prisoner like yourself. But together, perhaps we can be more.”

Byleth and Leonie shot each other a look, unsure of how to respond to the old man’s statement.

They finally settled on Byleth asking, “What do you mean by that?”

“There is a great tomb! A HOLY Tomb! Filled with treasures beyond your wildest dreams! Treasure enough to impress your Prince, I’d wager.”

“But the law says that only a noble can marry...” Said Leonie

The old man grinned a smile that showed all his rotten teeth, reminding both Byleth and Leonie of fried potatoes.

“You’ve heard of the Golden Rule haven’t you, child? Whoever has the gold makes the rules and what is a noble but someone with the most gold?”

“So why would you share this amazing treasure with little ol’ us?” Asked Byleth suspiciously

“I need someone with strong legs and a strong back to go in after it...”

“And how are we supposed to do that while you’re stuck in here? I mean no offense but I don’t think you’ve got the stamina to keep up with us when we get out of here.”

The old man chuckled as he approached a wall and used his walking stick to push in a brick, revealing a hidden exit.

“Things aren’t always what they seem. So do we have a deal?”

Byleth and Leonie looked at each other. Byleth briefly turned to the old man, “Give us a minute...”

The two walked away and began to whisper.

“What do you think?” asked Byleth

“I thought you said you “learned your lesson?””

“Leonie, this could be the best chance for both of us. Putting aside the whole thing with the Prince, we could finally get off the street, not have to scrounge for food. If not getting ourselves a nice place maybe we can travel again like we used to.”

Leonie looked like she was really thinking about it but then she glanced at the old man.

“...I dunno. Don’t you think this seems a little… convenient?”

“You think we can’t take on some old man? Come on Leonie, if we don’t take this chance, we go back to the streets and if we do take that chance… we could finally get that better life we dreamed of.”

“...Alright, let’s do it. Besides someone’s gotta keep an eye on you.”

* * *

The horse ride from the Capital to Fodlan’s Throat took most of the night but they finally arrived. Then the old man took two pieces of a dragon shaped medallion and put them together. The medallion glows and lets out a shattering roar before flying off and leaving a bright green trail.

“Go! Follow the trail!”

They did so, eventually spotting the medallion embedding itself into the side of a mountain and forming a giant stone dragon head.

“That is the entrance, now go! There is a stone imbued with great magic. Bring that to me and you shall have your reward.”

Byleth nodded as she and Leonie climbed off the horse and nervously approached the stone dragon head.

**_“WHO DISTURBS THE SLUMBER OF THE GODDESS?”_ **

“...I… It is I, Byleth Eisner and my companion, Leonie Pinelli.”

The stone dragon head narrows its eyes but then lets out a roar and a staircase appears leading further down.

**_“PROCEED! BUT TOUCH NOTHING BUT THE STONE!”_ **

The two women both took deep breaths as they made the trek down the stairs into the Holy Tomb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So about the fried potatoes thing. This was actually from my childhood watching the animated movie. Basically when my brothers and I were kids, my middle brother remarked that the bad teeth of Jafar's old man disguise looked like french fries. I couldn't resist putting in that little joke. ;P
> 
> Hope you found it as amusing as I did.


	6. The Holy Tomb

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Byleth and Leonie explore the Holy Tomb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a bit, I've been busy with work and I wanted to work on another fic.
> 
> I'll admit I'm not as happy with this chapter as others but oh well, I did my best and I hope you guys still like it. :)
> 
> [Edits: Not much, just changed Eleanor to Tiana to reflect newly revealed canon]

The two women climbed down the long staircase and just as they wondered if the stairs would ever end, they found themselves in a massive room filled to the ceiling with gold and jewels and treasures.

“Wow… would you look at that.” remarked Byleth

“Just a handful of this stuff would make us richer than the King.” remarked Leonie

With that said, Byleth turned to Leonie.

“Remember what the… the voice said. We can’t touch anything besides this stone we’re looking for.”

Leonie raised her hands showing them empty and open, “Right, right.”

Byleth and Leonie continued through the room, resisting the temptation to grab handfuls of treasure. At some point they pass by a statue of a wyvern.

“Do you think whoever made this place really liked dragons, By?”

Byleth chuckled and shook her head as she and Leonie continued on until they heard a loud shattering sound. They quickly turned around and immediately noticed the wyvern statue was gone.

“Leonie?”

“What are you looking at me for? I didn’t touch it!”

“I didn’t touch it either!”

The sound of skittering and coins falling from their tall piles filled the room, Byleth and Leonie looked around until they spotted a wyvern on top of one of the mountains of coin.

“Hey! How did...”

At Leonie’s shouting, the wyvern began to panic and quickly hide behind it’s perch, spilling more coins along the way.

“Where did it come from?” asked Leonie

“...You don’t think…?”

The two walked around the treasure pile and found the wyvern cornered, it fell into an attacking position, ready to defend itself. Byleth crouched down and held her hand out.

“Hey it’s okay, we won’t hurt you.”

The wyvern still seemed apprehensive but it slowly approached Byleth. She didn’t make any sudden movements and let the wyvern come to her. Before long, the wyvern nuzzles into her hand.

“See. We’re friendly, you’re safe. Were you the statue?”

The wyvern pulls back and walks to the base of where the statue (where it?) was. Byleth walked over and noticed an inscription.

_ I shall remain here in stone form and wait for the Goddess’ chosen. The Diamond in the Rough. When they arrive, I shall serve them loyally. _

“So you’re… I guess bound to us now?” Byleth asked

If a wyvern could smile, Byleth was sure this one was giving her the biggest one possible. It was almost like a big scaly dog.

“Well, at least we can say this trip is paying off right away.” remarked Leonie

“Say… could you help us out? We’re looking for some kind of special stone?”

The wyvern immediately turns around and rushes through the room as Byleth and Leonie follow it.

They lead through a long tunnel lined with fewer and fewer treasures as they went along. Eventually the wyvern led them to a large cavern. In the center, surrounded by water, was a massive stone pillar with a staircase going up.

“...Wait here, Leonie.”

With that, Byleth turned to the pillar and made her way up the stairs. Leonie blew a strand of hair in her face as she leaned against the wall. She looked around and then noticed a golden statue of a monkey holding onto a huge ruby.

“...This tomb’s not gonna miss one treasure… right?” She asked the Wyvern, not really expecting an answer

Except as Leonie tried to approach the statue, she felt the wyvern biting into her pants leg.

“Hey come on, it’ll be okay. I’m good at grabbing something without notice.”

Meanwhile Byleth made her way to the top of the pillar and before her on a pedestal was a small stone covered in dust.

“This is it? This is what we came all the way down here for...”

Byleth turned around and looked down only to see Leonie escaping from the wyvern and grabbing the ruby held by the statue.

“LEONIE NO!”

Just as Leonie touched the ruby, the same voice that greeted them at the entrance rang out.

**_“INFIDELS! YOU HAVE TOUCHED THE FORBIDDEN TREASURE!”_ **

Leonie looked down and shrieked as the ruby melted in her hand.

**_“NOW YOU WILL NEVER AGAIN SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY!”_ **

Byleth rushes down as quickly as she can down the stairs until they flatten into a slope and she finds herself sliding down. Then she was thrown up in the air and began to fall down to the water which had transformed into lava 

Byleth closed her eyes, waiting for her death except that it never came. She opens her eyes to see herself on top of the wyvern, who was already flying as fast as it can to save Leonie, stuck on a rock surrounded by lava. As soon as she was close, Byleth grabbed her sister’s hands and pulled her on top.

As soon the wyvern was sure that both women were safe, it flew through the cave, dodging falling rocks and spouts of lava.

“Leonie, what were you thinking!?”

“If you want my honest answer: I wasn’t.”

The three continued navigating through the cave as it fell apart and it wasn’t long before they finally saw the entrance.

“We’re almost there!”

Then suddenly a massive rock came tumbling down and the wyvern couldn’t dodge it in time. The wyvern managed to buck Byleth and Leonie off before it could strike them but this led to the wyvern itself getting knocked down to the cave floor.

Thankfully Byleth and Leonie managed to grab onto what remained of the staircase entrance and with some difficulty, began climbing up.

Byleth looked up and saw the old man at the entrance.

“Please… you gotta help us climb out!”

“Throw me the stone!”

WAS HE SERIOUS!?

“I can’t hold on, give me your hand!”

“First give me the stone!”

With some hesitation, Byleth reached into her pocket and pulled out the stone. She stretched her arm as far as she could until the old man was able to snatch the stone from her hand.

The old man began to laugh.

“Yes! YEEES! The power of the Fell Star is finally mine to command!”

With a burst of strength, Leonie managed to climb to the top and began to help Byleth up, when the old man struck her with his walking stick and then grabbed Byleth’s wrist.

“What are you doing!?” Byleth demanded

“Giving you your reward… your eternal reward.” The old man said as he raised the walking stick and a dark magic began to swirl around it.

However before the old man could unleash his magic, Leonie stood up and bit the man on the arm, causing him to let go of Byleth. He quickly regained his footing and struck Leonie once again with the walking stick, which made her fall as well.

From the ground, the wyvern could see the two women falling from the entrance, despite its injuries from the rock, the wyvern flew as fast as it could to catch Leonie and Byleth before they could violently land.

Outside the tomb, the stone dragon roared as rocks fell from the surrounding mountain, eventually the entrance became nothing but a pile of rubble.

The old man still nursing the bite on his arm stared at the rubble and then laughed. His form changing and revealing himself to no one as Solon.

“It took a little more trouble than expected but I finally have it...”

But as he put his hand into one of the pockets of his robe, his hand touched nothing.

“What!? No… no no… NOOOOOOOO!”

* * *

Ever since Claude returned to the Palace, everyone could tell that the young prince was in a foul mood.

Qadir and Nader had figured that it was simply because he was caught and his little trip through the marketplace had ended sooner than he hoped.

But…

Call it a mother’s intuition but Tiana could tell that something deeper was wrong.

Claude did not come to dinner so as soon as she was done, Tiana excused herself and went straight to Claude’s room. He would either be there, the library, or in the wyvern stables with Omar.

Thankfully her first guess was correct and she found her son in his room, mixing another one of his concoctions.

“Claude?”

No response.

Tiana takes a few steps before calling out Claude’s name again.

Once again, no response.

A few more steps, “Claude, please talk to me.”

“...Not in the mood.”

Tiana sighs.

“I can tell there’s something bothering you and it isn’t just that you were caught. Please, tell me what’s wrong.”

There’s a moment of silence and Claude lets out a shuddering breath.

“...Father and Tomas… they did something… something horrible...”

Tiana kneels next to Claude and strokes his hair like she did when he was a child.

“There, there, azizam. We’ll set it right, tell me everything.”


	7. A Friend Like Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Byleth and Leonie make a new friend while Solon and Kronya plan their next move

“Byleth… hey Byleth… come on Byleth don’t leave me alone here.”

With some difficulty, Byleth opened her eyes and saw Leonie kneeling over her and sighing with relief.

“Thank the goddess you’re okay.”

“Wh-what happened?”

“That old bastard screwed us over. But the wyvern saved us.”

Byleth winced as she stood up and looked over at the wyvern bowing its head to her.

“Heh, thanks um… we should give you a name. Can’t just keep calling you “the wyvern.” How about… Kanz?”

“...That’s literally the Almyran word for “treasure.”” remarked Leonie

“Well I think it fits given where we found it.”

The wyvern walked up to Byleth and began nuzzling her.

“Ha! You see? Kanz seems to like it”

Leonie let out a huff, “Okay so what do we do now? Unless Kanz can drill through the rocks, we’re stuck here thanks to that two-faced jackal… who do you think he was anyway?”

“...Doesn’t really matter now. He’s long gone and with the stone.”

“...I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

With that, Leonie pulled the stone from one of her pockets and tossed it to Byleth.

“Well, glad to see you haven’t lost your magic touch.” said Byleth

The blue haired thief looked over the stone in her hand.

“Don’t really get what’s so special about it, looks like an ordinary rock to me. Hm… wait I think there’s something on it but it’s covered in dust if I just...”

Byleth rubs off the dirt and dust off the stone, revealing a strange symbol that begins to glow. She yelps as she drops the stone onto the ground as smoke suddenly appears. 

Then with a flash of light, a girl appears.

She appeared to be no older than her teens with long messy green hair and wearing a flowing dress.

Byleth and Leonie stare at her in awe… until she lets out a large yawn.

“Ugh… a millennia can give you such a crick in the neck. Hm? I suppose I have you to thank for releasing me and you are?”

“Uh… Byleth Eisner? And this is my sister, Leonie and I guess our wyvern, Kanz.”

The green haired girl gave Byleth a rather unimpressed look.

“You named your wyvern, “treasure?” I suppose beggars can’t be choosers. My name is Sothis but I am also known as “The Beginning.””

The two women’s eyes went wide, Byleth in particular couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“I-I must have hit my head harder than I thought. I-it sounded like you just said that you are Fodlan’s Goddess.”

“Sothis” simply grinned, “Because that’s exactly what I said... ”

But then her smile dropped, “However I have since been stripped of most of my power and have been reduced to something akin to… oh what did the humans of the desert nations call it? A jinn? Or a genie if you will.”

“Wait a genie? Like the wish granting kind?” asked Leonie asked incredulously 

“Are there other kinds that I am not aware of?” Sothis responded sarcastically

Byleth still looked unconvinced, “Okay now I know I’m dreaming.”

Sothis just stared.

“You truly do not understand the kind of power you have in your hands! Do you?”

Before either Byleth or Leonie could answer that, Sothis smirked as she pointed to a spot and made golden dancing elephants appear. She points to another spot and dancing camels appear. Then out of nowhere, a tray of various Almyran and Fodlan desserts appear in her hands.

“I can do this and more! All you must do is rub the symbol on the stone and I say “I wish...”. So what will it be, Master?”

With a snap of her fingers, everything she summoned vanished and Byleth and Leonie glance at each other.

“So you can grant any three wishes we want?” asked Byleth

At that Sothis sighs.

“Well… yes and no. For one thing, absolutely no wishing for more wishes. That would lead to bad things.”

Leonie muttered as she snapped her fingers.

“I also have a few… limitations let’s call them.”

“Like?”

“Well Rule Number One: I cannot kill anyone. Rule Number Two: I cannot make anyone fall in love with anyone else. Finally Rule Number Three: I cannot bring back the dead. Other than that, what you want is yours.”

The two sisters look at each other and almost instantly, a plan is formed.

“Limitations?” asked Byleth

“On wishes?” asked Leonie

“She really expects us to think she was a goddess? She can’t even bring back the dead. I don’t know Leonie, I don’t think she can even get us out of this cave.”

“Guess we’ll just figure out our own way out.” Said Leonie with a shrug

Suddenly Sothis grew to massive size as she glared down the two women.

“EXCUSE ME!? Weren’t you the ones who came all this way to find my stone!? Did you not summon me!? And now you treat me as nothing more than a child!?”

“Well I don’t know if I’d say tha...”

“SILENCE! I WILL PROVE TO YOU MY POWER! YOU WILL GET YOUR WISHES SO GET ON THAT WYVERN AND SIT DOWN!”

Without another word, Byleth and Leonie rushed over to Kanz and climbed on. Sothis reappeared before them in her normal(?) size.

“Keep your hands and feet on the wyvern! Because. We. Are. OUT OF HERE!”

As Kanz flapped its wings and started to take off from the ground, Sothis raised her hands and a ball of energy appeared and was promptly thrown at one of the high walls of the former tomb.

Before long the three flew through the hole Sothis made and off to the distance.

* * *

Solon remained calm as the King, Queen, and Prince all glared at him while Kronya stood next to him just barely hiding her contempt.

“This is an outrage Tomas! If it hadn’t been for your years of service and Tiana’s recommendation...”

“In my defense, Your Majesty, I was merely following your instructions to order the execution of the Prince’s kidnappers...”

“My full instruction was to  **INTERROGATE** them and if they were deemed guilty, then they would be executed. Despite what you may have heard when you were in Fodlan, we are not barbarians. According to Claude, the women captured were completely innocent and now I have their blood on my hands because of you!”

Queen Tiana then stepped forward.

“I am very disappointed in you Tomas. As I recalled during your time with House Ordelia, you were a patient and careful man not someone who rushed into important decisions. It is only because of that time that we are willing to give you a second chance. Now before we can move on, an apology and a promise to never let this happen again is needed.”

Solon walked to the Prince and did his best to bow down.

“My humblest apologies for the pain I have caused, Your Highness. I swear that it will never happen again.”

The Prince still glared at him, muttering under his breath, “I’ll make sure this will never happen when I’m King.”

“Now Tomas, if you could give my family and I some privacy, I wish to speak with my son over the suitoress business.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

The two walked out of the room and as soon as they were sure that no one could see them, Solon and Kronya teleported out and into their hidden base.

“Grrr… if only I had gotten the stone!” said Solon as he transformed

Kronya let out a snort as she shapeshifted briefly into the Prince’s form.

“I’ll make sure this will never happen when  **_I’M_ ** King” She said in a mocking imitation of his voice

She quickly shifted back into her true form and began pacing around the room.

“Ugh to think we have to keep kissing up to that fool king and his shrill wife and their brat son!”

“No Kronya, it looks like it will be until the brat son finds his own shrill wife. Then he’ll have us banished… or worse, beheaded…” 

Then suddenly an idea came to Solon.

“Unless...”

Kronya lifted up an eyebrow.

“Unless what?”

“Unless Kronya…  **you** were that shrill wife.”

“EXCUSE ME!?” She demanded with a growl in her voice

“Listen. If you were to marry the Prince, then you would become Queen and you would all the power and access the title grants you.”

Kronya seemed to think about it for a moment, “Hm… that does sound tempting…”

“And who is to say that the Royal family doesn’t suffer some… “tragic accident” after the wedding?”

Kronya smirked, “Oooh like maybe they all fall down a cliff, their bodies broken by the rocks below!”

Solon darkly chuckled and Kronya quickly joined in, the room quickly filled with their laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the real world "kanz" is the Arabic word for treasure and I thought it would be funny for Byleth to be bad at naming things.
> 
> Also sorry if Sothis' introduction was a little shaky. Like I said, it's hard to adapt a scene that was a musical number and you don't want to make the story into a songfic. Hopefully a certain scene later on will turn out better. ;)


	8. To Make a Princess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sothis explains her situation and Byleth and Leonie discuss possible wishes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, long time no see.
> 
> So for reasons I don't want to get into, I had a moment where I lost a ton of motivation to continue this and decided that I needed a break from it.
> 
> But it's now back. As usual, can't guarantee quick updates but I don't wanna leave this unfinished.
> 
> Also I should let you all know that previous chapters have been edited, some have altered scenes, added dialogue, and thanks to the DLC, we now know that Claude's mother's name is Tiana so all her scenes have been changed to reflect that.
> 
> That said, there's another little reveal that I'd like some imput on but we'll save that for the end of the chapter, for now give the earlier chapters a re-read for the edits and enjoy this one.

“Hey! Nap time is over! Get up!”

Byleth stirred and slowly sat up. When had she fallen asleep? Was everything just a dre…

Despite her vision being a little blurry, she could tell that she wasn’t in the capital nor was she in the cave. In fact, she could see a small body of water… and it made Byleth realize she was very, very thirsty.

With a wobbly start, Byleth began to run to the water, collapsed onto her knees as soon as she reached it, and began to cup the water in her hands to drink. She was quickly joined by Leonie and Kanz.

Wait… Kanz…?

_ ‘The wyvern… we found him in the cave and… so that means.’ _

Byleth turned around and clearly saw Sothis, floating off the ground and looking around with a bored expression.

“Sothis...”

Upon hearing her name, Sothis turned to Byleth and smirked.

“Finally fully awake now? So, were you pleased with that demonstration of my power?”

Byleth offered her own smirk as Leonie and Kanz finished drinking from the oasis.

“I have to admit you sure showed us. Now about the three wishes...”

“Oh? Do my ears deceive me? Last I checked, you are now down by one.”

“Ah, ah, ah. I never said “I wish.” You wanted to prove yourself and got us out on your own.”

Sothis briefly looked like she wanted to argue… but then pouted as she realized that Byleth was absolutely right.

“Hmph, very clever. But that is the last time I do you a free favor.”

Byleth nodded, “Understandable… now… what should I wish for… What would you ask for Sothis?”

Sothis’ eyes widened and a sorrowful expression crossed her face.

“...Freedom.”

“What do you mean?” Leonie asked

“I told you before that I  _ was _ Fodlan’s Goddess. Something… something happened to me that took away most of my power. It wouldn’t have been so bad, my power would have likely restored itself over time except… I was then sealed inside the stone. Forcing me to use what was left of my power in service of whoever summoned me.”

“So you’re a prisoner?” asked Byleth

Sothis nods, “Yes. And the only way I would be free of this eternity of servitude is if the one in possession of the stone wished for my freedom.”

Byleth and Leonie looked at each other then turned back to Sothis.

“We’ll do it.” said Byleth

“Huh?”

“After I make my first two wishes, I use the third to set you free.”

Byleth offered her hand and Sothis looked at it, unsure if the offer was sincere. She let out a sigh and shook Byleth’s hand.

“Very well… I shall put my trust in you. For now though, what else does your heart desire?”

Before Byleth could say something, she felt Leonie’s hand on her shoulder.

“Can we talk?”

“Oh sure. Give us a minute, Sothis.”

“You know where to find me.”

The two women walked a little further into the greenery and then stopped.

“Something you wanted to say, Leonie?”

“Byleth… we can get Jeralt back! We can use one of the wishes to bring him back.”

“But Sothis said she can’t bring back the dead.”

“But what if he’s not dead!?”

“Then why hasn’t he come back for us!?” Byleth said in a raised voice

Byleth sighed, “...I’m sorry for shouting but… Leonie, it’s been years. I know dad would never abandon us so that just leaves...”

A look of frustration crossed Leonie’s face.

“Just because you lost hope, doesn’t mean I have. I still say we should make the wish, if he’s dead then I guess Sothis will just tell us that she can’t do it but if he’s alive, she can grant the wish. It’s not like it’s going to be a waste of a wish.”

Byleth still looked unsure and something just occurred to Leonie.

“...No… nonono. You’re still hung up on the damn Prince!?”

“Leonie...”

“For the love of Soth…wait... I mean. Is a guy you knew for one day really more important than your own FATHER!?”

Byleth glared at her sister, “Of course not! ...I’m just… ”

“You’re just what?” asked Leonie as she crossed her arms

“...What’s the point of getting dad back if we’re still stuck on the streets? What if we do get him back but he’s in the same situation as us? No money, no weapons?”

“He can find work, they don’t know him in the capital.”

“Yeah but  _ we’re _ known in the capital as a pair of thieves, who’s going to hire him if he’s seen with us? Not only that but we were just arrested for “kidnapping” the Prince, Leonie! I bet those guards at the dungeons are probably wondering where we disappeared to and it wouldn’t surprise me if they start looking for us outside the Capital.”

Leonie then sighed.

“...I don’t see how you can work things out with Prince Charming with all that in mind. But If you’re so insistent on this then at least promise me that you’ll use the second wish for Jeralt. It might be a nice surprise for him to walk you down the aisle and see you marrying a prince.”

“I promise, thank you Leonie.”

“I’m holding you to that promise, just so you know.”

Byleth nodded as the two walked back to Sothis who looked a little annoyed.

“You know, you two aren’t as quiet as you think you are. So… there’s a man huh? Do you remember what I said I  _ couldn’t _ do?”

“I’m not asking for him to fall in love with me. I think there was a connection! He was smart and funny and… he had these green eyes that...”

Byleth then sighed and leaned against a tree, “But we can’t be together because he’s the Prince and only a… no… ble… Could you do that!? Make me into a noble or even a princess!?”

Sothis smirked, “You know… I think I can do that…  _ if _ you say the magic words.”

“Sothis! I wish for you to make me into a princess!”

“Alright… now we can’t exactly have you arrive for your prince looking like that.”

Byleth looked down at her threadbare dirty clothes, Sothis certainly had a point.

“Just close your eyes and hold still and I’ll make you look truly royal.”

Byleth did as she was told, even if she wasn’t sure what to expect. She could feel a sort of small whirlwind surrounding her and before long instead of the itchy worn cotton of her normal clothes, she could feel silk against her body, a skirt instead of pants, and long sleeves.

“Okay, you can open your eyes now.”

Byleth did and apparently Sothis had conjured up a mirror for her to see her new appearance.

Her messy blue hair had become long and smoother along with being turned into a bright mint color. She wore shining jewelry on her ears and neck and wrists along with a beautiful black dress with pink trimmings.

Byleth could hardly believe she was looking at herself.

“Hope you don’t mind the changes in appearance. I figured you didn’t want those guards you were so worried about, recognizing you. Now there’s something missing…” 

  
  


Sothis glanced over at Kanz as he attempted to scratch his head against one of the trees.

“I suppose you already have a… noble steed such as he is. What else would a princess need? Ah I know, hey Red get over here!”

“Wait, me?” asked Leonie

“Who else would I be talking to? Now I said get over here!”

Leonie reluctantly walked over to Sothis and suddenly found herself lifted up as something (magic? Byleth guessed) surrounded her.

Just like with Byleth, Leonie’s clothes and hair began to change. When she was finally brought down, Leonie’s ponytail had become much longer and she now wore an orange coat over a black shirt and a lighter pair of pants. Her hair and the lower half of her face covered by a red veil.

“Meet your trusted handmaiden.”

“Excuse me!? You couldn’t have made me a knight or a bodyguard or something?”

“For what it’s worth, I think you look good.” Remarked Byleth

Sothis smiled, “Oh but we’re not done yet!~ You are going to make an entrance that your dear little prince won’t forget!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so most of you have likely already heard about how it was recently confirmed that Claude's real name is Khalid, which leads me to this question.
> 
> Should I use Claude's real name for this fic? On the one hand, he has no reason to use the name "Claude" here and since the fic takes place in Almyra, it would make sense. On the other hand, "Claude" is the more recognizable name and not using it could cause some confusion with folks.
> 
> So I'm asking you guys, let me know via comment or reply to me on my Tumblr or Twitter on what you think I should do.

**Author's Note:**

> Ya'll can find me elsewhere on Tumblr @ https://nexttrickanvils.tumblr.com/ and Twitter @ https://twitter.com/NextTrickAnvils
> 
> And if you wanna scream about Claudeleth with me and other fans of the ship, there's a Discord server for that: https://discord.gg/F3H3ebr


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